The present invention relates generally to a painting roller for performing continuous painting work and more particularly to a painting roller having a permeable roller element with an internal storage cylinder therein, and an injection hole in an end of the roller element for filling the storage cylinder with paint by dipping the roller element into a pail of paint. Further, the roller includes a shaft which defines the axis of rotation of the roller element and extends through the roller element and outwardly from an end thereof merging into a handle, a movable pin which projects outwardly from the end of the roller element from which the shaft extends and outwardly beyond the shaft, a spring which biases the pin outwardly, a shutter which closes the injection hole, and a spring which biases the shutter to a closed position. In order to fill the storage cylinder with paint, the roller element is inserted into a pail of paint, and the pin is pressed against the wall of the pair to open the shutter.
Heretofore paint rollers have been available which have comprised a perforate hollow cylinder element having a cloth or fur covering wherein the interior of the cylindrical element is utilized as a storage cylinder for paint and wherein an injection hole is provided for filling the storage cylinder. However, it has been found that when rollers of this type have been used for rolling paint on the surfaces of walls, paint can inadvertently pass outwardly through the injection holes and must be cleaned up after the painting operation has been completed. In order to overcome this problem, the device disclosed in Korean Utility Model Application (Publication #85-1923 dated Sept. 11, 1985) included a shutter to shut off the injection hole thereof. However, it was found that because a portion of the shutter projected outwardly beyond the free end of the roller, the projecting portion of the shutter often engaged the adjacent wall when the roller was used to paint a corner, and that as a result the corner had to be repainted with a brush after painting work with the roller was completed.
It is therefore and object of the present invention to provide a painting roller having a storage cylinder around the axis of rotation of the roller element thereof and an injection hole in the roller element wherein the injection hole faces a curved portion of the handle of the roller element adjacent to where it is attached to an end of the roller element and wherein the roller includes a movable drive pin which is biased by a spring mounted on the axis of the roller element and is operable for opening the injection hole when the drive pin is urged against a wall of a paint pail to fill the storage cylinder.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a painting roller which is operable for performing continuous painting work on the corner of a wall without being interfered with by the outflow of paint from the roller so that hand brushing after the rolling operation is completed is unnecessary.
A still further object of the instant invention is to provide a painting roller which is operable for evenly distributing paint on a surface with the help of a cloth cover on the roller.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.